Cardinal George to undergo more tests

Church leader, diagnosed with cancer last week, will keep previously scheduled commitments

August 20, 2012|By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune reporter

(Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)

Cardinal Francis George will keep his previously scheduled public commitments after undergoing more medical tests this week to determine the source of cancerous cells in his liver and kidney, the Chicago Archdiocese said Monday.

George, 75, who battled bladder cancer six years ago, learned last week that the disease has returned to his kidney and liver. George's doctors will work with him to plan a course of treatment, according to a statement from the archdiocese.

After George was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, doctors removed his bladder, prostate and a portion of his right ureter. The cardinal, now in his 15th year as the leader of the nation's third-largest archdiocese, resumed normal duties. In the years since, doctors have continually given him a clean bill of health.

"The cardinal rested at home this weekend and was actively engaged in a number of his administrative responsibilities," George's spokeswoman, Colleen Dolan, said in a statement.

George submitted a mandatory letter of resignation in January, required of all bishops when they turn 75. The submission of the letter was the first time a Chicago bishop had reached that milestone. George was installed as head of the archdiocese in May 1997, six months after his predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, died of pancreatic cancer.

"Until further information is available, Cardinal George has asked for continued prayers for all affected by cancer and the doctors and medical staff that work with patients and their families, as well as for himself," Dolan said in the statement.